Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump and his entourage reportedly failed to eat a single item of a special vegetarian feast prepared for him during his trip to India.
The American president and his wife, Melania, were presented with the menu during their visit to Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, one of the former homes of the Indian independence hero.
In an effort to please the famously carnivorous tastes of the president, the chef — a well-known award-winning chef called Suresh Khanna — adapted a number of famous Indian delicacies to make them more recognisable for their guests and even included more familiar items such as chocolate-chip cookies and apple pie.
But neither Mr Trump nor the First Lady touched anything from the special high tea menu.
“Some food items were arranged for the members of the visiting delegation, but neither the US President nor the First Lady had anything during their visit to the Ashram,” one of the Ashram’s trustees, Kartikeya Sarabhai, told the PTI news agency.
Mr Trump is infamous for enjoying a classically American diet, featuring cheeseburgers, Diet Coke, well-done steak and ice cream among his favourite dishes.
Many commentators wondered how he would fare during his two-day trip to India, whose population includes more than a billion Hindus who revere the cow as sacred and about 500 million vegetarians.
The chef at the Gandhi Ashram, as well as offering his high-profile guests American desserts such as apple pie, also hoped to introduce the Trump delegation to some Indian cuisine.
Alongside khaman, a savoury sponge cake which is a speciality from Gujurat state, there were also samosas — the iconic triangular pastries.
However, rather than filling them with the traditional potatoes and peas, Mr Khanna added his own twist on the classic snack by packing his samosas with an unorthodox combination of broccoli and sweetcorn.
Although the Trumps did not even try the samosas, Indian Twitter was quickly ablaze with outrage at the chef’s attempt to blend a much-beloved indigenous snack with more Western flavours.
Deepal Trivedi, the editor of a local Ahmedabad newspaper who was at the Ashram, tweeted: “The #BroccoliSamosa is a miserable snack. Not a single person finished a full one! Wish there was something genuinely Indian for high tea rather than this bastardised version of our #yummy samosa.”
Rachita Prasad, another Indian journalist, said: “If you change a samosa’s fillings, you are playing with feelings! #BroccoliSamosa is NOT a samosa."
Others apologised “to entire humanity” for the now infamous samosa, while she Indian-born American host of the reality TV show Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, said simply: “Trump is the broccoli samosa of people.”
Thankfully for Mr Trump, later during his visit he stayed at a luxury hotel in New Delhi, where the presidential suite had been amply stocked with Diet Coke and cherry vanilla ice cream in advance of his arrival.
The Indian newspaper Kerala Kaumudi reported the hotel had also provided the delegation with their own private chef who could prepare “any kind of cuisine or food they want in a jiffy”.
Mr Trump’s love of fatty fast food had got him in trouble back home, it emerged recently. Ronny Jackson, who worked as the president’s doctor after his election, told the New York Times he had tried to hide the ice cream and mix cauliflower into his mashed potato.
However, efforts to trick the president into a healthier diet proved unsuccessful as Mr Trump gained enough weight during the year to tip into the obese category at his last medical examination in February 2019.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments